HD jumper settings for RAID setup

[skytop]

I am setting up a RAID 0+1 array using 4 identical Western Caviar hard drives connected to an ABIT TH711RAID mobo.
I cannot find a clear indication in the docs or on the web of how to configure the jumpers on the drives. Which of the drives are configured master or slave or what?
Thanks for the help.

[piyopiyo13]

Set the hard drives up as you would for a normal IDE configuration (master/slave), except that the IDE cables get connected to the designated RAID ports.

[skytop]

re: piyopiyo13
Thanks for the info.
What is confusing is that a number of RAID board companies have instructions that specify setting all drives to function as MASTER drives in a RAID 1 or 0+1 array, (they stress this point!).

I have never seen two drives on a single channel operating in any other way than Master-slave configuration.
I contacted Western Digital and they state they do not 'support RAID' so no info can be offered.
Contacting ABIT is an exercise in frustration. I have emailed Abit support regarding the HD config for use with a 0+1 array and am awaiting a reply. I will post info when received. Best/:

[SickPup404]

I've got an ABit KT7A-RAID and using it in RAID 1, but I put each drive as master on its own channel on the HPT controller. Once you load the drives and go into the RAID setup, you should see what they are physically connected as and logically configured as.

Like Piyopiyo13 said, just set them up as master/slave on each channel. It's actually pretty cool once you get them up and running! This is my first RAID setup and it's FAST! I wonder if I could go faster with 0+1???

[skytop]

re:SickPup404
So you set up as all masters! Interesting!
I have the TH711Raid board that also uses the 370 controller on channels 3 and 4.
I will finish building my new machine today and start it up with only the first two drives running as masters on channel 1 and 2 repectively. I want to first (hopefully!) get the beast up and running before I start to cook it.
It really surprises me how every single site I visit is mute on the subject of how to configure the drives. They all simply say "hook'em up" and then go into big time detail of the BIOS settings. Even the Abit mobo doc, while good, is completely silent on how to configure the drives. Their website is no better (sigh!)

I have always wanted to run a full blown 0+1 array for speed and security. With the prices of gigantic speedy drives down to such reasonable levels, I figured this was finally the time to go with it! Dirt cheap made a great deal on 4 identical WD drives. Should make a mighty interestiing sound when I fire them all up! I mounted two vertically stacked 80mm X 25mm Everex fans astride the drive bays to keep these puppies cool and happy. I isolated the fans with thick soft rubber grommets to avoid any vibration getting through to the drives.

BTW, read the Tom's Hardware article on benchmarking RAID arrays. Specifically, his remarks about the necessity of running the IDE array on individual channels Best/

[SickPup404]

A point of clarification: I have them set up as masters because I'm only using RAID-1 (mirror) so I only have 2 drives. 1 master on each of the HPT controllers ports. I still have 1 open connector on each cable that I would hook up slaves to.

[SickPup404]

I looked in the PDF version of your manual from their site. Take a look at page 4-8 and onward. This goes into the HPT BIOS setup for the RAID options. On the screen prints, they refer to Primary Master, Primary Slave, Secondary Master, and Secondary Slave which infers you need to set up master/slaves on both channels on the HPT, just like the regualr m/b ports.

Hope this helps!

[skytop]

Excellent! Thanks for the heads up on the drives. That makes sense. I booted my new machine last night and wonder of wonders, the dang thing fired off! I sstill have not installed the O.S. since I was concerned about the 100GB drive size. I found out that WindozeXP will format the drives right from the install disk.
Regarding the drives, I plugged both pairs (Master-slave on IDE 3, and secondary Master-secondary slave on IDE 4. I had my CDROM and DVD on IDE 1. (IDE 2 was empty.)
Since I never got to the HighPoint setup, none of the hard drives were recognized and only the CDROM and DVD were seen. Just for the hell of it, I moved the connector from IDE 3 to the open IDE 2 and rebooted. The Abit BIOS immediately then saw the two drives sitting on IDE 2.
Additionally, the board chocked on the new Northwood Pentium and gave the message "CPU is unworkable". Nice, huh? I figure that I have to flash the bios to the new #38 version which recognizes the Northwood chip. Will do that later today.
BTW, I have 3 case fans, two 80mm fans cooling the drive bays, the CPU heatsink Zalman fan, and an I/O fan. Using the DigiDoc5 controller, I can regulate the fans and keep the noise down while still maintaining a safety factor. I really like the digital doc.
Also, I still have not heard from ABIT tech. Not too cool.

I may sound 'slow' at installation, but this is the first full blown RAID machine I have built in about 5 years and everything is DIFFERENT!!! The dealers I bought from know very little and so I am left to my own devices and exploration.
I thank all you guys for your patience and help!
Best/

[SickPup404]

You will not see the ABit BIOS recognize the drives attached to the HPT controller. Once you get past the ABit BIOS screens, the HPT BIOS kicks in and it will recognize them. Then you hit CTRL-H to go into its BIOS setup for the RAID. Piece of cake really....

[skytop]

Hi SickPup404:
Piece of cake...huh? I flashed the mobo bios OK but the RAID setup is another wrinkle. Guess I'm right back to my first question which I have never found an answer.
How are the two pairs of drives correctly connected to the IDE controller?
I first had them connected to the HTP controlled IDE 3 and IDE 4.
However, they were not seen at all by the BIOS (as you stated).
To allow me to install windoze XP, I was forced to move one cable to IDE 2. BIOS then saw these Master/slave drives and allowed me to install the O.S. The other pair of drives still connected to IDE 4 remain invisible.
I went to the HighPoint setup, and selected RAID 0, but I found that after allowing the program to search for possible target drives, only the first two drives on IDE 2 were being visible. How can I get these remaining drives to be recognized?
Also, when the RAID setup is performed, is existing data on the drives lost? Will my O.S. install be lost? What other instructions in this can you forward?
Again, thanks for the guidance.
Best/

[skytop]

Successfully completed the RAID 0+1 setup.
Here's where the hangups occurred.
In the mobo BIOS setup, you MUST set boot disk#1, #2, and #3 all to ATA100. This is what allows the Highpoint BIOS menu to recognize the presence of all 4 hard drives. Go into the HPT menu (ctrl H) and then proceed to configure your array. Be certain to synchronize the new mirror (RAID 1) array at this time. It takes some time to complete so be patient.
For some unknown reason, the HightPoint menu did not display the RAID 1 option after I created the RAID 0 array. I solved this problem by reinstalling the Abit mobo BIOS (which contains the Highpoint BIOS and setup). The RAID 1 (mirror for security) option then was present and I proceeded to complete the set up.
BTW, if you have trouble getting Windows XP to accept the new HPT driver, go into system and select the RAID and select the driver and update. At the appropriate window, click on I will select the driver. This will allow you to "force" XP to go to where you have the driver. XP is very relunctant to accept new drivers other than what it originally had on the Microsoft CD. Yea, Bill Gates has a better idea. Ha.
It is amazing that it took so long to slowly sleuth out all the details of configuring the drive jumpers, selecting the appropriate channels, getting the BIOS to even recognize the drives, and then overcomming the recalcitrant HighPoint BIOS. In retrospect, it can be done in a straight forward fashion....IF you know the way. To bad the mobo and controller companies do NOT provide a really comprehensive description of this procedure. Users must sweat it all out discovering the proper path. Good luck to others and I hope you have a smoother experience. BTW, the system really does fly noticeably faster with RAID.

[skytop]

Successfully completed the RAID 0+1 setup.
Here's where the hangups occurred.
In the mobo BIOS setup, you MUST set boot disk#1, #2, and #3 all to ATA100. This is what allows the Highpoint BIOS menu to recognize the presence of all 4 hard drives. Go into the HPT menu (ctrl H) and then proceed to configure your array. Be certain to synchronize the new mirror (RAID 1) array at this time. It takes some time to complete so be patient.
For some unknown reason, the HightPoint menu did not display the RAID 1 option after I created the RAID 0 array. I solved this problem by reinstalling the Abit mobo BIOS (which contains the Highpoint BIOS and setup). The RAID 1 (mirror for security) option then was present and I proceeded to complete the set up.
BTW, if you have trouble getting Windows XP to accept the new HPT driver, go into system and select the RAID and select the driver and update. At the appropriate window, click on I will select the driver. This will allow you to "force" XP to go to where you have the driver. XP is very relunctant to accept new drivers other than what it originally had on the Microsoft CD. Yea, Bill Gates has a better idea. Ha.
It is amazing that it took so long to slowly sleuth out all the details of configuring the drive jumpers, selecting the appropriate channels, getting the BIOS to even recognize the drives, and then overcomming the recalcitrant HighPoint BIOS. In retrospect, it can be done in a straight forward fashion....IF you know the way. To bad the mobo and controller companies do NOT provide a really comprehensive description of this procedure. Users must sweat it all out discovering the proper path. Good luck to others and I hope you have a smoother experience. BTW, the system really does fly noticeably faster with RAID.